Decade And One

once when I was thirty-oneI woke in the dead of nightand heard the vastness of the snowfall outsideslipped downstairs in my bare feetsoon forgotten freezingand pour a milk glass fullto wait out the tide

been a decade and onebeen a decade and one my friendsa decade and onesince I

as the white went downI thought of the child upstairsI thought of the God upstairsthat I couldn't believeI thought of the chosen manasleep on his side of the bedhow green becomes woodin a family tree

been a decade and onebeen a decade and one so soona decade and onesince I stoodso proudand so unsure

ebony glowing by the window thereas alwaysfingers kissed the keys oh so tenderlycool ivory returned in kindI thought of anger and adulationand the taste of dreams realizedand the waste dreams realized leave behind

a decade and onea decade and oneI said out louda decade and oneand I am hereand I am here still standing